Help used Eris-something missing?

[Droidgrl10]

I just got a used Eris to temporarily replace a lost Incredible. It's running gingerbread but even so, it looks a lot different from the Incredible. It seems like things are missing, like Google navigation. There's nothing on the homescreen, like there was when I got the Incredible, except at the bottom-phone, browser, the google search bar at the top and the menu button at the bottom. The Incredible had the clock and weather, mail, message icons, market icon. When i search through the apps, I see some developer tools, which I never saw on the other phone. What do your home screens look like?

 

[doogald]

I just got a used Eris to temporarily replace a lost Incredible. It's running gingerbread but even so, it looks a lot different from the Incredible. It seems like things are missing, like Google navigation. There's nothing on the homescreen, like there was when I got the Incredible, except at the bottom-phone, browser, the google search bar at the top and the menu button at the bottom. The Incredible had the clock and weather, mail, message icons, market icon. When i search through the apps, I see some developer tools, which I never saw on the other phone. What do your home screens look like?

It sounds as if you bought an Eris that was rooted and is running a version of CyanogenMod 7 (Gingerbread) and definitely not a Sense launcher. I'd actually counsel against trying to install a Sense based Gingerbread launcher - they can be very balky.

There are several things that you can do, if you wish:

- Keep using the phone as-is, with a vanilla, stock Android Gingerbread.

- Install a stock Eris, Sense based custom ROM for the Eris, which has Android 2.1 but has the sense launcher and components that you are more familiar with - the large clock/weather widget, the large phone button on the bottom of the display, with buttons to add elements to the homescreen and a button to open the app drawer.

- Install a custom ROM that will return the phone to stock, unrooted Eris. It will be exactly like the option above, except the phone will be slower, will have less room to install third party apps.

I'd suggest the second option myself.

First, if you could, go to a home screen, press menu->settings->about phone. Somewhere there should be information about build number and system version. They may be in a sub-menu. Can you tell us what those values are?

Also, have you ever rooted your phone before?

 

[Droidgrl10]

It sounds as if you bought an Eris that was rooted and is running a version of CyanogenMod 7 (Gingerbread) and definitely not a Sense launcher. I'd actually counsel against trying to install a Sense based Gingerbread launcher - they can be very balky......





First, if you could, go to a home screen, press menu->settings->about phone. Somewhere there should be information about build number and system version. They may be in a sub-menu. Can you tell us what those values are?

Also, have you ever rooted your phone before?

I have never rooted my phone before. I don't know what the guy who owned this phone before did.
rom typemgb, android ver 2.3.3, rom ver 1.1.2
Does that help?

 

[doogald]

I have never rooted my phone before. I don't know what the guy who owned this phone before did.
rom typemgb, android ver 2.3.3, rom ver 1.1.2
Does that help?

Let's try this: First, make sure that your battery is higher than, say, 50%. If it is not, plug in the phone while you do the following:

power your phone down. While the phone is off, hold the VolumeDown key while you press power. Hold power until you see the screen light up.

It should start a special low-level HBOOT, with a white screen with a text menu. It should look something like this, though not exactly like this (I hope):

Can you type what the first two lines of that display are? (Actually, all you have to say is whether the top line says "S-ON" or "S-OFF" and what the numbers are after "HBOOT" - it will be either 1.46.0000, 1.47.0000, 1.49.0000, or 1.49.2000 (which it will only be if the top line was S-OFF.)

There should also be something that says "Press Vol Up for Recovery" (perhaps not those exact words.) Press the volume up key and the phone should vibrate and take a few seconds to start something else.

When it does, does that something else look like this:

If yes, notice there is a menu item highlighted that says "Reboot system now". Just press the trackball to do that and restart the phone; it will start normally.

If no, does it say "ClockworkMod Recovery" on the top line?

Also, do you have a Windows PC or a Mac?

 

[Droidgrl10]

S-On
1.49.0000

I have a PC

 

[doogald]

S-On
1.49.0000

I have a PC

And did the Recovery look like the photo I posted, or did it say "ClockworkMod Recovery" at the top?

In the meantime, you can download this file, which will be used to install a custom ROM called xtrSENSE: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/220420/Eris/xtrSENSE/xtrSENSE5.0.1.zip

Just to ask the question, have you ever copied files from your computer to your phone's SD card? If you have, it would be great to copy that xtrSENSE5.0.1.zip file over to your SD card. Do not unzip it first - move the zip file itself. The file should be 111.7 MB. Check to see that the file on your SD card is that size.

 

[Droidgrl10]

I can't find my SD card. I'm waiting for a new one in the mail. In the meantime though, would there be any benefit in keeping the current operating system? If I install xtrsense what will I have access to-will I get the GPS back?

 

[doogald]

I can't find my SD card. I'm waiting for a new one in the mail. In the meantime though, would there be any benefit in keeping the current operating system? If I install xtrsense what will I have access to-will I get the GPS back?

If you mean navigation, that should be available in Google Maps. If you don't have Maps right now, you can get if for free from the Android Market.

What xtrSENSE gets you:

- the Sense launcher, which I'd say that you are more comfortable with

- a stable and fast (for the Eris) software build

- lots of room for third party app installs


What you'll miss:

- because it is Android 2.1, the GMail client is not as good as with Froyo/Gingerbread

- Probably not much else

 

[Droidgrl10]

If you mean navigation, that should be available in Google Maps. If you don't have Maps right now, you can get if for free from the Android Market.

What xtrSENSE gets you:

- the Sense launcher, which I'd say that you are more comfortable with

- a stable and fast (for the Eris) software build

- lots of room for third party app installs


What you'll miss:

- because it is Android 2.1, the GMail client is not as good as with Froyo/Gingerbread

- Probably not much else

Okay. I downloaded the file. What's next?

 

[doogald]

Okay. I downloaded the file. What's next?

I'm traveling right now, sorry to say. I'll try to get back online tonight, though it may not be until tomorrow. Sorry about that.

 

[doogald]

Okay. I downloaded the file. What's next?

Ok, first, copy that file to your SD card. Don't put the file (xtrsense5.0.1.zip) into a folder on the SD card - just onto the SD card. The file will be 111.7 MB - make sure it is that size on the SD card.

Then, power down your phone. Then do the following:

1. Hold down VolUp while you power the phone. You can release the VolUp when you see the white screen with the skatboarding Androids
2. This will start the Recovery screen that you saw before - the picture is up above a few posts.
3. Use the trackball to move down to the "Backup/Restore" menu - press the trackball to choose that
4. Choose Nand Backup - this will make a backup of your phone as it is now, just in case
5. When done, press VolDn to return to the main menu
6. Go to the "Wipe" menu
7. Choose "Wipe data/factory reset"
8. When that is done, choose "Wipe Dalvik cache"
9. When that is done, press VolDn to go back to the main menu
10. Choose "Flash a zip from sdcard"
11. From the menu that pops up, choose "xtrSENSE5.0.1.zip". Press the trackball to confirm.
12. When this is complete, press the trackball to reboot the phone

The first boot takes a few minutes, but it should walk you through the initial Android setup and finally bring you to the Sense launcher.

If the step "Flash a zip from sdcard" shows an error message (and only if it shows an error message), you can recover with the following:

1. Choose Backup/Restore
2. Choose Nand Restore
3. Press the trackball o the only option that shows up, then choose the latest nandroid backup that shows up. There should be only one, that looks something like "BDS20120224081216" - the numbers are the date and time that you ran the backup (GMT).
4. When that is done, press VolDn to return to the main menu and restart the phone. You should be back to where you were at the time that you started this process.

 

[Droidgrl10]

Now I have a screen that says xtrSense but the phone is completely unresponsive. Scratch that, I just got a home screen. I think it worked!

 

[doogald]

I hope it worked out. I need to get a life - all of that was from memory. If it worked (it should have) I'd say that I've done this far too often.

Good luck with it.

 

[Droidgrl10]

Now that I've installed Xtrsense, is it on the sd card or the phone? I will upgrade relatively soon and I'd like to keep the card.

 

[doogald]

Now that I've installed Xtrsense, is it on the sd card or the phone? I will upgrade relatively soon and I'd like to keep the card.

It's on the phone. I moved my SD card from my Eris to my new phone and it works just fine.